Do Fewer Stupid Things

Tiffany says her parents have co-signed government loans so that she could attend college. Will her forbearance or nonpayment affect her parents' credit if she doesn't pay? Dave says yes.

QUESTION: Tiffany in Pennsylvania says her parents have co-signed government loans so that she could attend college. Will her forbearance or nonpayment affect her parents’ credit if she doesn’t pay? Dave says yes.

ANSWER: Yes. I’m not trying to guilt trip you, kiddo, but you’re trashing your parents’ credit if you don’t pay the bill on time because they’re a co-signer. They’ll start getting the phone calls if you don’t pay on time. That’s why they wanted a co-signer.

Our goal here is not to beat you up, but it is to give you information so you can make different choices. I’ve done stupid things. You’ve done stupid things. We’ve all done stupid things. The trick is to do fewer stupid things. It just brings less pain to all of us.

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